Trolling motors have been long used by anglers to move fishing boats through the water in search of fish. These motors, which are usually electric, are adapted to move a fishing boat, bass boat, or the like at a speed conducive to the use of trailing lures such as “spinners” or other such lures designed to be pulled through the water. It is essential to accurately control these motors to ensure the safety of the angler as well as to correctly position the lure so as to maximize the angler's take of fish. Previously designed trolling motor controllers allow the user to control the direction to which the motor steers the boat from a location remote from the motor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,900 to Young discloses a hand-held or foot-operated controller for controlling an electric trolling motor to change the direction of a boat, by going left or right. In another embodiment of the invention, there is a switch on the controller to turn the motor on or off, in addition to the switch that controls the direction to which the motor steers. Thus, the angler can be anywhere in the boat and simultaneously steer the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,517 to DePasqua, the inventor of the present invention, discloses a controller for a trolling motor in a fishing boat. The controller is affixable to a finger or a fishing pole to allow the angler to simultaneously move around the boat and perform various tasks that require a hand or hands. The angler can meanwhile maintain control over the boat. The controller being capable of controlling several functions of the trolling motor, such as turning the motor on and off, controlling the steering position of the motor, and controlling the speed of the motor. The controller also operates wirelessly using radio frequency communication.
Young describes a controller, which either occupies the use of the hand when using the hand-held embodiment, or necessitates the use of the foot when using the foot pedal, which fixes the location of the angler within the boat. DePasqua describes a controller that allows more mobility about the boat, however, using it occupies at least one hand, since switches and buttons are used to operate and control the trolling motor. Therefore, it is apparent that these devices do not provide complete freedom of mobility about the boat, and a total hands-free operation of the controller for the trolling motor.
Additional prior systems include that which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,324 to Knight, U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,835 to Knight, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,213 to Carlson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,636 to Robertson et al. The disclosure and teachings of the Knight, Carlson, and Robertson references are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Carlson and Knight describe navigation systems comprising a magnetic compass to determine the heading of the boat and the heading of the motor, respectively. Unfortunately, these compasses do not account for the roll angle and pitch angle of the compass due to the natural motion of the boat in the water. Failing to account for these angles undermines the accuracy of the heading detected by the compass. The present invention is provided to improve upon and solve these and other problems.